2. Life Expectancy and Improvements in Water Supply and Sanitation
in Three French Cities, 1820-1900
1. Read the definition
of life expectancy. From
your own experience, list at least five factors that can affect life
2. Study Chart
2 which suggests a relationship between life expectancy and improvements
in water supply and sanitation in three French cities from 18201900.
- What was the
life expectancy in each city in 1820? What was the life expectancy
in each city in 1900? What was the general trend for all three cities?
- About what year
did each city begin its water supply and sanitation improvements?
- What does the
chart suggest was the reason life expectancy was higher in Lyons in
1900 than in Paris or Marseilles?
- According to
Chart 2, life expectancy in Marseilles began
improving even before water and sanitation did. What are some possible
explanations for this?
3. In the social
sciences, researchers usually use current data to explore conditions
and issues. Why would water supply, sanitation, and life expectancy
information from 19th century France be helpful for people learning
about these issues today?
4. Use the Text,
Chart 2, and your own knowledge, to argue for
or against this statement:
Access to safe water
and sanitation are not luxuries that can wait for a stronger economy;
rather, they are necessary in order to build a stronger economy.
5. You are a government
official in a middle-income country. A crisis exists in your country
because an epidemic of cholera has broken out and is spreading rapidly.
You are holding an emergency meeting with other officials to decide
what to do. As you plan your course of action, consider the following:
- Cholera is spread
by fecal contamination of food and water.
- Victims become
extremely thirsty and need lots of water or they will die from dehydration.
- Hospitals are
overcrowded in your country even when there is no epidemic.
- Households can
boil their drinking water for 10 minutes to make it safe. But most
people are not aware of this, and, even if they were, it would cost
the average poor family a third of its income to do so.
- Tourism has disappeared,
and other countries will no longer buy fruits and vegetables grown
in your country.
- What actions
would you take immediately?
- What policies
would you set up for the long run?
- How would you
pay for these measures?
- What world resources
might be available to help your country through this disaster?